>>The Moving
Stronghold
By Mark S Watson
http://www.markswatson.com/movestrong.html
Posted on This site
March 27 2005
The Moving
Stronghold
This is a
look at a most important subject when looking at bible prophecy. It
is the story of a very powerful spiritual stronghold that has moved
from city to city throughout the time of mans probation here on
earth. I will not give this spiritual entity a name other than to
say that its influence can be traced from antiquity to our time in
the 21st century.
This
stronghold is known more by its spiritual attributes than by any
singular name. Looking at this entity in this manner will dispel a
great deal of confusion if one is willing to listen to the
Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and is not set on trying to ‘teach God’
what his word means, as so many are inclined to do.
The Spirit of the
City
Tyre
Tyre was also
a great city of antiquity and was the capital of the Phoenician
Empire. Its sister city was Sidon (Zidon) located 22 miles north of
Tyre. Both cities were an important part of the ancient world and
was located on the Mediterranean. It had all the characteristics of
suffering from the same spiritual leprosy as her evil twin sister,
Tyre. What is interesting about Tyre is that she was once a friend
(sort of) to Israel. It was Hiram (from Tyre) that built the Temple
of God under King Solomon.
Indeed, it is
clear that Tyre was also instrumental in assisting Israel Build the
second Temple. (Ezra 3:7). Without digressing too much it also
appears that commerce was important to the Tyreans during the
building of the Second temple because they were selling all manner
of goods on the Sabbath in Jerusalem and wrought great evil in so
doing. (See Neh. 13:15-17).
Commerce and
religion played a role in the past when this stronghold took control
and it will be the same in any system that falls under the sway of
this demonic stronghold.
In the
following passage we see some very important characteristics; A
multitude of Merchants resided in her who were considered to be
great men on the Earth.
Who hath
taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning
[city],
whose merchants [are]
princes, whose traffickers [are]
the honourable of the earth? The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to
stain the pride of all glory,
[and] to bring into contempt all the
honourable of the earth.
(Isa 23:8-9)
This entire
Chapter in Isaiah is instructive as to the economic relationships
that Tyre had developed as well as who God proposed and eventually
destroyed her.
Take an harp,
go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it
shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD
will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit
fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the
earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the
LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise
shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently,
and for durable clothing.
(Isa 23:16-18)
From Ezekiel
we see that Worship, Merchandise, Earthy wisdom
Son of man,
say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine
heart [is]
lifted up, and thou hast said, I
[am] a
God, I sit [in]
the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou
[art] a
man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Behold, thou [art]
wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
By thy great
wisdom [and]
by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is
lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold,
therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the
nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy
wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee
down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of
[them that are]
slain in the midst of the seas.
(Eze 28:2-8)
Ezekiel adds
another important aspect to Tyre. That is Worship. The King of Tyrus
though he was a god. He was full of PRIDE.
This king of
Tyre (Ethbaal) was very wise, even wiser than Daniel, and that is
God’s opinion of him! He used his wisdom to gain riches via economic
traffic. Yes this is the same Tyrus that Isaiah spoke about.
But later we
also see the real power behind the King of Tyrus is a very powerful
angelic being that was in Eden.
Thou
[art] the
anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee
[so]: thou
wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in
the midst of the stones of fire. Thou
[wast]
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they
have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:
therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God:
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the
stones of fire.
(Eze 28:14-16)
This is not a
human entity that is being described. No human except Adam and Eve
have been in Eden and no human is a Cherub. A Cherub is a very
special angelic being. There was only one angelic being that was
recorded as being in Eden and he took the form of a Serpent. This
was the real power behind Tyrus and the real power behind this most
important of spiritual strongholds.
Nineveh
One of the
first places we can find the clearest indication of this stronghold
is in a place called Nineveh. It was the capital of the Assyrian
empire. This city was a very important city in antiquity and it was
known for several things that God remarked on in his word.
She is
identifies as a Harlot By God
She is well
favored (beautiful)
She is
involved in witchcraft
She sells
nations through her whoredoms
She has many
merchants and merchandise
She is
situated near water.
Brothers and
sisters, this is not coincidence and if we delve deeper into the
Scriptures we will see from another often quoted scripture who is
really in control of this spiritual stronghold.
Here is a
verse that shows this entity doing all of these things.
Because of
the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the
mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms,
and families through her witchcrafts.
(Nah 3:4)
God becomes
angry with this harlot and declares here judgment on her she is
going to have her shame and nakedness exposed for all to see.
Behold, I
[am]
against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy
skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and
the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee,
and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. And it shall
come to pass, [that]
all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh
is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters
for thee?
(Nah 3:5-7)
Here God
makes it clear that he will deal with the wickedness of the city of
Nineveh that sits by the water. It is important to note here an
important spiritual point. Nahum made these prophecies about a
hundred years after Jonah, who as sent, rather reluctantly to
Nineveh to warn of God’s Judgment. God spared Nineveh because at
that time the Ninevite’s repented (Jonah 3:5ff).
However,
later after all the old-timers in Nineveh had passed away, the next
generation rose up and did as they wanted. It appears that commerce
and witchcraft were keys to its dominion and God prepared his
recompense on those who submitted themselves to the spiritual forces
that were in control of Nineveh. From the scriptures in Nahum we can
see some the things that happen as God Judges Nineveh.
The People
flee (3:7)
She shall be
drunken (3:11)
She will be
burned with fire (3:15)
There is no
remedy for her wounds. (3:19)
Something
happens that makes the gates of the City open wide to their enemies
and the people become ‘women’. (3:13)
Babylon
While I could
go into the old Covenant and show how this entity has moved from
Tyre on to Babylon I think rather, I will show an interesting
scripture that shows that there was a strange spiritual entity that
is signified by a wicked woman that is capable of movement and her
last known destination was Babylon.
Then the
angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now
thine eyes, and see what [is]
this that goeth forth. And I said, What
[is] it?
And he said, This [is]
an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This
[is] their
resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up
a talent of lead: and this [is]
a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This
[is]
wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast
the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine
eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the
wind [was]
in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and
they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said
I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and
it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
(Zec 5:5-11)
The land of
Shinar is just another name for Babylon. The two storks are taking
this wicked woman from somewhere (probably Tyre) to Babylon.
We notice
here as I have mentioned on other parts of this site that this
entity is capable of movement from place to place.
There is
another woman mentioned in the Book or Revelation and it lines up
perfectly with what we have seen in Tyre and Nineveh.
The best
place to look is in Revelation Chapter 17 and 18, and Jeremiah 50
and 51. Here you will see all the characteristics of Babylon that we
find in the other two cities.
And
there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With
whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast,
full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman
was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and
precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her
forehead [was]
a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the
blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and
when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said
unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel?
I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,
which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go
into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of
the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet
is. And here [is]
the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on
which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen,
and one is, [and]
the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a
short space.
And the beast
that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven,
and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are
ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power
as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of
lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him
[are]
called, and chosen, and faithful.
And he
saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore
sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And
the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to
fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the
beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings
of the earth. And after these things I saw another angel come down
from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with
his glory.
And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen,
is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of
every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of
her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues.
For her sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I
sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine;
and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong
[is] the
Lord God who judgeth her.
And the kings
of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously
with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty
city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the
earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more:
The
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls,
and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine
wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of
most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And
cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and
oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses,
and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy
soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were
dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them
no more at all.
The merchants
of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off
for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas,
alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple,
and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every
shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many
as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke
of her burning, saying, What
[city is] like unto this great city!
And they cast
dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas,
alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in
the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made
desolate. Rejoice over her,
[thou] heaven, and
[ye] holy
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty
angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast
[it] into
the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be
thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
And the voice
of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be
heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft
[he be],
shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall
be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall
shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of
the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants
were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of
saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
(Rev 17:1-18:24)
All of the
same elements are here. The woman who is a wicked harlot involved in
Merchandise and is very rich. God gets angry with her and destroys
her. And as with Tyre, there is witchcraft involved in the system.
Revelation 17 and 18 and portions of Jeremiah 50 and 51 are end time
prophecies and have not occurred yet, despite what the false
prophets of Babylon are telling you. They are part of the satanic
stronghold that is deceiving many and they are drunken with the wine
of her fornication and her riches and the unholy relationship she
has with this system.
Why is it so
difficult to see this? Why are the Churches not speaking out about
merchandising the Gospel? Why are so many ministries involved in it?
In all
fairness, I know that it takes money to run a Church and ministries
and God knows this as well. I have one. It costs money, no doubt
about it. I get so little support that at times it gets very
discouraging. But many have had their eyes opened up because of what
I have written, by God’s grace and I know that my reward is not
money but rather, is located in Heaven.
Those who sow
into this ministry will reap its rewards. Those who sow into the
false apostate Corporate Christendom located in the United States of
America will reap destruction. Merchandising the Gospel is not what
God wants us to do. I do not sell the gospel, prophecies, ‘holy
handkerchiefs’ or any other such MERCHANDISE, while I do have a
small kiosk on this site, I have no control over the copyrights of
those books and thus cannot give them away, as I do with my own
book.
Yes, you will
find some links here and there to Amazon.com and even to some
financial web sites, but these are for assisting people with
decisions and gaining information on in the times we are in. If
God’s people obeyed him like they claim to I would not have to have
any of that stuff on my site. But the American Christian would
rather, spend $50 on tickets to a Basketball game, or $100 eating
out at a fancy restaurant than on God’s work.
They are
known by their fruit.
God is not
against his people making money and is not against using innovative
ways to support ministries. But the entire emphasis in modern
Christendom is on huge multi-million dollar Churches to attract the
Lexus Generation to increase ‘Church’ revenues.
This is not
what the kingdom of God is all about. The kingdom of Satan… yes, the
Kingdom of God… no.
What is the
kingdom of God about?
For the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost.
(Rom 14:17)
Buying and
selling is a necessary evil in our times… emphasis on the world
evil. Yes, the saints must to some degree operate in the system of
Mammon but let us get our priorities right and never let mammon, the
threat of the loss of riches, power, comfort or worldly ‘peace’
override our godly responsibilities. Those responsibilities are to
love the truth, hate the lie, minister to each other and the poor,
to forget not the persecuted look earnestly and joyfully for the
coming of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Apostate
Churches will speak of helping the poor and then look at them
suspiciously when one enters their Church. They will cast out the
homeless and do their utmost to attract the well-moneyed children of
mammon in order to to fleece them.
I have
digressed here because the LORD has directed it. It was not my
intention to cover this issue but the Holy Spirit deems it of great
importance. Mammon is satanism and satanism is mammon. Those who
fall under the sway of mammon are of the devil.
As Christ
said, you cannot serve God and mammon. The Churches today by and
large support our illegal war, our plundering (theft) of another
nation, our torture camps and the deliberate lies told to the people
to get us into this unjust and illegal war.
They support
this antichrist system. Remember that all liars go into the lake of
fire, there are no exceptions (Revelation 22:15)! He does not
exclude the kings and rulers of the Earth that lie us into bloody
wars who claim to be Christians and then plunder nations. Why do the
Churches support this system? Because they are part of it.
The tragedy
is that they don’t even know it.
By,
Mark Watson
E-mail
|
|
